Storm of Our Legacy
by JRWStudios
Summary: Sequel to Thunder of Our Hearts - It's been sixteen years since Cloud and Lightning's reunion, and though things seemed to have settled in both their worlds after the defeat of Loki, it looks like trouble is on the horizon again. Characters belong to Square
1. Prologue: Wolf Sense

Daughter: Ula 'Rain' Strife (Ula - name meaning wolf power) Nickname 'Rain' stuck during a fickle period around when she was twelve, and her parents sat her down to tell her who they really were, etc, etc.

* * *

Prologue: Wolf Sense

 _A wicked thunder cracked over the wastelands, driving creatures out from hiding before a torrential rain began to pour. Every living thing was fleeing for its life from some unseen threat, even the behemoths and reavers were cowering in fear. It was so clear that something was horribly wrong, but as the man looked around, he couldn't tell what. But then, like a strike through his heart, an immeasurable pain ripped through him, throwing him to the ground as the sea of water washed over him, drowning him among the bodies of everything that didn't get out of its way in time. A thick black cloud clung to everything the water touched, burning the man as he tried to swim against an impossible current to reach the surface. It felt like his lungs were about to burst, making him fight harder and harder against the current._

 _Then, just as the edge of his vision was beginning to turn black he saw a light shining through to him from above, drawing him up out of the water into the warmth of -_

Cloud gasped as he shot up in bed, covered in a thick layer of sweat. He looked around wildly, his gaze first settling on his wife, then his sword, then finally his door. He launched out of bed, the sound of his feet hitting the ground making his wife bolt up, and ran out into the hallway, nearly sliding past his goal. Lightning caught up to him as he opened the door to their daughter's bedroom, but she had no idea why the sight of her sleeping peacefully in her bed made Cloud stiffen so visually. The blonde walked over to his daughter's side, and as Lightning followed she was shocked to see a crystal glowing dimly in the girl's clenched hand.

"Cloud," Lightning whispered in surprise. "Why does she have a crystal?"

"I don't know," Cloud carefully removed the rock from his daughter's hand, examining it for a moment before looking at his wife with a pained expression. "It's not a crystal, it's a summon."

"A summon?"

"Like Odin and Fenrir." the man quietly set the crystal down on his daughter's nightstand, then motioned for Lightning to follow him from the room. As soon as her door was shut, the two crept down to the kitchen, where Cloud sank into one of the chairs by the dining table to bury his head in his hands. Lightning paced beside him for a moment, then paused to fix him in a confused stare.

"Cloud, the crystal age has been over for sixteen years. That Eidolon couldn't have come from the same line as ours."

"But Fenrir and Odin aren't from the same line, or the same world. If this one has survived somehow, that means it's probably connected to Fenrir and we both know the only reason you can still call out Odin is because Fenrir took him from your world before he could disappear with the Eidolons your friends had, just like the only reason we are still technically gods is because Fenrir took that part of us and sealed it away when we were jerked to your world for the final thirteen days. We remember the end of your time, and you remember everything that led up to it because Fenrir-" Cloud paused. "Because Fenrir locked it away…"

"Cloud?" Lightning was hesitant to reach out to him, sensing he had come to something.

"Light, I had a dream, one of the ones like you sent me? The world was flooding, but it wasn't normal water, it was like it was made out of these crazy black clouds like the chaos we saw back in your world when the chaos flooded." the blonde looked up at her in fear when she finally sat beside him. "I think Fenrir is trying to warn me about something."

"Do you think he might have sent Ula the crystal?"

"It's possible, and if it was him that sent the crystal, it'll probably be one of his children, maybe even both." Cloud shook his head. "He chose the name "Ula" for her for a reason afterall."

"'Wolf power', right? Maybe that was the first time he tried to warn us." Lightning reached over to put a hand on his shoulder. "Maybe, just maybe he was trying to warn you in his own subtle way, so you could start preparing without alarming the rest of us."

"Maybe...Fenrir has only even been clear with his warnings when it was immediate or insanely dangerous, so it makes sense that he would try to drop hints about the future, knowing anything he says bluntly could be destructive."

"And if he's acting up now -"

"The danger is coming soon." Cloud sighed. "I was hoping after all the trouble with Loki, and then Bhunivelze, we'd be in the clear… But he didn't lock up all that stuff so we could keep it for reminiscing, he kept it because he knew we would need it."

"Yeah, because it would be too easy to let us choose a world and stay there in peace."

"Of course." he looked up at her again, but dropped his gaze when Lightning leaned over to kiss his forehead.

"Let's go back to bed. It's too late for us to try and figure out any warnings right now."

"Yeah… you're right."


	2. Chapter 1: Rude Awakening

Quick Author's Note: Due to a guest who commented on the prologue I thought I should explain something real quick. I understand that most people will look for the ff7/ff13 cross over and not ff7/lrff13, but I made this one an lrff13 crossover because it's not really a crossover with ff13 the way it is with lrff13, because all the mentions to Lightning's world and powers are really toward Lightning Returns and the evnts after it. I will consider changing it later if the views stay low, but as long as I can tell people are finding the story, I'll just leave it as is.

* * *

Chapter 1: Rude Awakening

It was early the next morning when a loud series of crashing objects on the first floor awoke Cloud and Lightning. Grabbing their weapons they were soon running down the stairs, only to skid to a halt at the bottom, and having to fight through a mix of emotions as they looked at the scene before them:

Pride - their daughter was standing in front of two fading armor covered wolves.

Anger - she had destroyed the entire kitchen and living room in the fight against them.

Shock - she was standing there covered in a silvery white armour with stark black decals carved into the curves and a wolf head like her father's prominent over her heart.

Ula turned to her parents, a black, silver rimmed sword in her hands. She took on a sheepish look, reaching up with her free hand to rub her neck. As her armor faded, giving way to her torn pajamas, she cleared her throat.

"Uh… good morning…" Ula giggled nervously. "Did you… uh… did you sleep well?"

"Ula Strife what the hell?!" Cloud leaned his sword against the wall before walking over to the girl. "What, you couldn't have taken the crystal outside before messing with it?!"

"How was I supposed to know what it was?!" she growled, putting her hands on her hips. "I thought it was just so dumb rock one of you left in my room or something!"

Lightning sighed, getting between the two before they started punching. "Hey calm down. Cloud, she's just as right in this as you are. Let's just be glad she didn't take out the entire house.'

Cloud huffed, crossing his arms. "Fine, fine… Let's head to the bar… I'll make some calls later."

The women exchanged a look as he stalked out, rubbing his face in exasperation. It was too early for this kind of thing, and seeing his daughter all dressed up in armor was a bit too much for pre-coffee Cloud. Lightning motioned for Ula to follow the man out the front door, and across the street to the 7th Heaven. Tifa was inside with Marlene, cleaning up to open. Marlene smirked when the pajama clad trio walked in, but her face fell into one of worry when she noticed Ula's were torn. She pushed her long braid back over her shoulder, and wiped her hands on her apron as she walked out from behind the bar.

"You looked like you got in a fight Rain. Did you piss off Fenrir again?" Marlene bent over to examine the cuts on the girl's arm. "Go wake up Denzel and make him get the first aid kit for you… Wait, no, Cloud, _you_ better go wake Denzel up." she stood, looking at the man. "You know, for _reasons_."

Tifa rolled her eyes. "Will you two just move out already? You're both in your twenties, you can survive on your own… Not like you can't stay at Cloud's now anyway either. He's got a room there..." she narrowed her eyes and leaned close to Cloud as he passed. "Don't uncover him, trust me."

Cloud snorted, walking up the stairs to Denzel's room. A few moments later and the women were looking up at the ceiling, listening to Denzel's bed being flipped over and him hitting the floor. They heard frantic footsteps, then Cloud flew down the stairs and jumped clear over the bar, ducking down on the other side as a cup flew past his head. Denzel stomped downstairs a minute later, thankfully in a pair of sweatpants, hair drenched.

"That's not funny Cloud!"

"The only thing I find funny about this I can't mention because my daughter's in the room!"

Denzel looked like he was going to reply, but cut off when he saw Ula. He reached up to run his fingers through his hair.

"Damn Rain what happened?"

"Got in a fight. Where's the kit?"

"Under the bar." Tifa turned in a miffed surprise when he hunched down to retrieve the box. "Moved it down here 'cause Reno keeps hurting himself recently."

Cloud stood again, leaning over the bar as Denzel stood. The men locked eyes for a second before Denzel huffed and gave Marlene the kit.

"Here, I'm gonna go get dressed.

"Please?" Cloud smirked, then turned to watch his daughter get bandaged up. She was already healing, leaving him not quite as worried as he should have been. Tifa, however, was not so easily soothed.

"So, what happened?"

"Coffee first."

"Why didn't you make it-"

"I don't have a kitchen anymore Tifa. Coffee, please."

Lightning walked over and nodded, and as Denzel returned to the lower level the pair walked over to sit at the table where Ula was being patched up. Tifa and Denzel joined them, letting the girl's parents enjoy their coffee before pestering them further. But when Cloud's cup hit the table, Denzel was the first to speak up.

"So what happened to Rain?"

"You know how Lightning and I have those special summons we had to fight to keep?"

"Yeah?"

"Well Ula has one now too. A pair of wolves."

"Skoll and Hati." the girl piped up. "Fenrir's children."

"Like father like daughter…" Denzel scowled. "Lucky little brat…"

"Shut it! You're just jealous 'cause I got to be awesome like dad and you didn't!" she stuck out her tongue, prompting the man to stand.

"I'm not afraid to hurt you."

"I'll eat you alive pretty boy."

"Children! Enough!" Cloud snapped, his eyebrow twitching. "No more fighting for today! We need to all quiet down so Light and I can discuss something with Tifa! And Denzel-" the boy gulped "-I didn't adopt you so you could turn sour later. Don't forget you're just as much my child as Ula is. Why else would I let you have that motorcycle?"

"True." Denzel looked smug. "Fair enough."

"So what do you need to discuss, Cloud?" Tifa looked curious, no longer worried about Ula.

"I had another one of those weird dreams last, right before we discovered Ula had been given a crystal. I think Fenrir might be trying to warn us that something might be getting ready to happen… or burst…" he added as a kind of afterthought. "Whatever it is, it's gonna be bad, maybe even worse than Loki."

Marlene looked up from Ula's leg. "We'll be ready to help you this time, come what may. Right, Denzel?"

"Yeah."

"Hopefully it's nothing." Cloud sighed. "But I just don't know anymore."

* * *

Thanks to the guest who reviewed already!


	3. Chapter 2: Signs

Chapter 2: Signs

Ula hummed to herself as she left the adults to talk, heading upstairs to the bathroom to get cleaned up. She sighed at her reflection, bandages on her cheek and neck, then picked up Marlene's brush to do something about the wild tangles of more rose-than-strawberry blonde hair. Once everything was falling free, she brushed her hair back, tying it up so it resembled spikes like what her father had. With her bangs framing her face, she looked at her bandaged covered body once more, then turned to leave. But just as she was leaving, something caught her eye. She turned her attention back to the mirror and gasped when she saw that her eyes had turned yellow, but when she blinked, they were her usual blue. Confused, the girl shook her head and went back downstairs, but her confusion only grew when she saw Tifa, Marlene, and Denzel on their feet, staring at a large scorch mark on the floor where Cloud and Lightning had been.

"Aunt Tifa what happened?!"

"I don't know…" the older woman turned to look at her, then grimaced. "Rain, you really should go get changed. Denzel, could you go across the street with her while Marlene and I clean this up?"

"Sure." Denzel seemed happy to get out of clean-up duty, making a face at his sister as she followed him back across the street to her house. She hurried off to get changed when he froze half-way into the ruined living room, staring in horror at the carnage.

"If I had done something half-this bad dad would've knocked me into next week!"

"I had an excuse!" she called down before disappearing into her room. She looked around through her closet, digging around for one of her favorite tops. It was a blue tank top that her father never let her leave the house in, even if she did have a jacket over it. Donning it and her favorite pair of cutoffs, Ula grabbed some socks and her black decaled boots and sword before heading downstairs to join Denzel.

"So, bro, what happened to mom 'nd dad?"

"I don't know." the man returned the only surviving piece of furniture (the armchair Vincent had jokingly purchased for them when they bought the building) to its upright position. "They suddenly got zapped off somewhere."

"Oh." she frowned, sitting in the chair to put on her shoes. "Well then I guess there's no one around to stop me from going to the wastelands."

"Except me."

"You won't. Hey! Why don't you come out to the wastelands with me and help me practice with Hati and Skoll?"

"I'd say no but I know if dad found out I let you go out to wastelands alone he'd kill me so let me get Fenrir and we'll ride out together."

"Alright."

* * *

"Where are we going Light?"

"I don't know… wait, yes I do. It's my world."

"Oh." Cloud cringed at the bright light as they were flung into Lightning's world, landing quietly behind a building dressed in clothes he still considered a bit weird. Claire chuckled, then snuck around the building to the front door, leaving Cloud no choice but to follow. She knocked on the door then stepped back, and within a few moments the door flung open and her sister popped out, wrapping her arms around her.

"Claire! I'm so glad you're back! Cloud! It's good to see you again! Both of you come in, come in!"

"It's good to see you again Serah! Sorry we've been away so long."

"It's alright!" she smiled, leading the two through the house to the kitchen where they found Snow sitting at the table, filling out papers.

"Hey Snow."

"Claire! Cloud! Welcome back!" the man sent them both that warm grin of his. "I hope everything's good on your end."

"Oh it's all going fine."

"You, uh, still got that delivery service Cloud?"

"Yeah of course."

"Well hey I came up with a few ideas-"

"Snow leave him be."

* * *

Denzel let Ula jump off the back of the motorcycle as he pulled to a stop at the top of an all too familiar plateau. It was the one where flowers grew wild, marking the spot where several years ago Denzel had found out Cloud's friend died. He still didn't know the whole story, but every time he was at that spot he couldn't help but see flashes of a raging battle going on around him, one man standing alone against many. He could tell by the way Ula kneeled at the edge of the flowers that she could sense something as well, but unlike him she was less likely to ask about it. When she stood again she shot her adopted brother a smirk, watching him open the side panels of the bike to pull her sword out for her.

"So, how's this gonna work?"

"I dunno, I'm kinda just planning to figure it out as I go." she shrugged, then reached over to her wrist, and shocking Denzel when she seemed to summon a fiery red crystal out of the Fenrir's head leather band she wore there. Ula held it in her hand for a moment, muttering something about it being warm, before tossing it up into the air. Sword at the rest, she jumped after it and shattered it with her blade with a neat swing. With a flip she was landing elegantly a few feet from Denzel, as rose petals suddenly whipped up around them. A pair of mechanical sounding, armor covered wolves appeared from the rose storm, standing side-by-side as they crouched before their summoner. One was colored by beautiful browns and reds, the other with blues and whites.

Ula placed her sword on her back as she walked over, and Denzel couldn't help but watch curiously as she placed a hand on each of their foreheads.

"Skoll," the red one dipped his head to her. "Hati," the blue one stood a little taller. "Are you ready?"

The two seemed to reply before crouching lower, looking like they were ready to pounce. They watched as Ula retreated a few feet, then pulled her sword to stand ready. At her nod, Denzel was staring in shock as his little sister was suddenly engulfed by a combined burst of fire and ice. She leapt through the blast, seemingly unfazed by it, before launching her own attack. She swung her sword much easier than Denzel thought she should be able to, and was able to knock hati aside before collapsing under Skoll when he jumped onto her back. Heaving herself up the wolf was launched off of her, and Ula turned her attention to him. The girl snarled and leapt into the air, flipping thrice before bringing the sword down on the wolf. Skoll yelped loudly, effectively distracted Hati just as she was about to attack Ula once again. With a graceful spin Ula turned her sword on the blue wolf once more, knocking her much further away, where she lay winded for a few moments.

Ula couldn't help but grin as she plopped down on the ground, sitting there as the wolves got back to their paws. The two walked over to the girl and bowed their heads, then flopped down on either side of her. Denzel approached cautiously, tensing up when both wolves lifted their heads to stare him down. Ula rested an arm on each of their backs, effectively calming their gaze as he walked over to sit in front of them.

"You've gotten pretty good with that sword of yours Rain. Has dad been teaching you?"

"Dad and Mom both." she smiled. "They're both really good with swords but are radically different when it comes to teaching. Mom was more about technique: build up your speed, attack first, learn the enemy's movements to learn their weak spots. Dad, oh Gaia, Dad was all about the strength: build up your strength, use the sword like it's weightless, blah, blah, blah."

Denzel laughed. "Yeah that sounds about right."

* * *

Thank you karlievocaloid4 for commenting on the prologue on deviantart!


	4. Chapter 3: Where are They?

Author's Note: This chapter contains a major spoiler for Lightning Returns. I know you're going to want to read it, but may just feel conflicted about it, so please know that yes it really was necessary to include this spoiler.

Chapter 3: Where are They?

Cloud chuckled as he watched Claire and Serah giggle over some photos while drank their coffee. Snow smirked from his spot in the nearby armchair, reaching over to shove Cloud's shoulder.

"You really do love her, dontcha Cloud?"

"Yeah, yeah I do." Cloud smiled slightly. "She's not like any other woman I've met, that's for sure."

"Uh-huh, yeah, that's how you know she's the one for you bud. So, any more kids in foreseeable future? I mean how old is your daughter now, fifteen or so?"

The man scoffed, his thoughts drifting to Ula. "Sixteen, and she loves proving it."

"Ah, yeah I'm sure. Why isn't she with you this time? We haven't seen her in awhile. Everything's… okay, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, she's just busy with school and stuff. She's talking about going to college early, you know, get a head start? So she's pretty much got her head stuck in her books."

line

"God dammit there is nothing in this book to tell me about this damn sword!" Denzel tossed Ula's book back at her. "Why the hell is your sword so special Rain?"

"It's one Fenrir got from mom before something, something, world ended, blah blah, restart of time, blah." Ula shrugged. "Dad fixed it up so I could use it easier… I think it was green before, but you know, it's blue now… Yeah."

"Uh-huh. So in other words, there is no documentation on it because dad?"

"That is the perfect explanation, yes." she stood, and walked over to the bar. "Hey Marlene, can I have a soda?"

"Of course." Marlene turned around to grab a glass as Tifa approached. "Any sign of Cloud or Lightning?"

"Not yet. Then again we don't even know where they went or why they were taken there." the girl smiled when she got her drink. "They could be running around Pulse with Aunt Serah and Uncle Snow, or they could be wandering the ruins of Valhalla with Fenrir."

" _I assure you, they are not with me_." the adults jumped as Fenrir materialized behind Ula, but the girl only turned around to him. " _They were pulled to your mother's world to get it back on track in time. They had been gone just a bit too long for the world to handle and were called over. They may or may not be gone a few days._ "

"Oh that's just lovely."

" _Have they told you about the dream Cloud received?_ "

"I heard bits and pieces."

" _That will have to do. Ula, the dream I sent Cloud was no mere dream. It was a warning about events that will happen much sooner than he thinks. Tell me, have your parents told you about the end of your mother's world, and the restart of its time?_ "

*spoiler* "Yeah, when the goddess died the cycle of life and death was broken, and the chaos was no longer in check. Mom and dad were called upon by the god Bhunivelze, to gather souls to be reborn in the new world he had begun to create in the five hundred years they were in a crystal sleep in Valhalla." Ula tapped her cheek. "The chaos that had burst forth covered most of the world like a sea, and the remaining humans and creatures were pushed to the edge of extinction, no longer aging but no longer able to reproduce, and still able to die. Everyone who died when the chaos flooded, or before mom and dad could 'save' them were lost to the chaos, and when mom and dad found out Bhunivelze was going to destroy those souls, along with what really makes humans 'human', they turned on him and mom killed him, because he had turned her into a goddess in order to serve him in the new world and restore the balance of life and death."

" _Yes, and when your mother was spared the fate of being the new guardian of death, she, Cloud, and her friends were reborn in her new world as regular humans, no memories of the 'Crystal Age'. I saved their memories of all that had happened so they could remember to return to this world. However, it seems that what I did to save this world from facing a similar fate, has brought a new one upon it._ "

"What do you mean, 'a similar fate'?"

" _Had your father not been able to return to this world, he would have been completely erased from history. Time would turn back, and Sephiroth would be unchecked. This world would be destroyed._ "

Tifa gulped in fear, pulling Marlene close to her. "Cloud was that important to the world?"

" _His actions in Nibelheim, standing up to Sephiroth in the reactor, were what gave the planet the strength to hold him off in the lifestream. The planet may have been unsure as to whether it wanted the humans to survive, but it did not want itself, or the other creatures that call it home, to be destroyed._ " Fenrir sat down in front of Ula, turning his gaze back to her. " _So if Cloud had never stood up to Sephiroth, the planet would have given up._ "

"But what does that have to do with what's going to happen now?"

" _Cloud has been written into the history of two worlds, as have you, as have your mother… you three will spend the rest of your lives in traveling between the two worlds, aging in both, but dying only in one. Your parents have already hit the peak that will allow them to stop aging in this world, but in the other they will continue to age until they die, when they will be pulled permanently back to this world. The same will happen to you. This new cycle of immortality was already forcibly written onto the life of one of your friends, Vincent Valentine. His actions to help Cloud adjust and keep the balance of light and dark in his heart has put him in a place next to you. The four of you will outlive this planet, and colonize the next._ " he watched her wrinkle her nose. " _Not in that way Ula. Your parents will be the first of the new human race, and your and Vincent shall take the place of the guardians of life and death. But now the fate that plagued your mother's world is threatening to overtake Gaia, and bring that fate upon you much sooner."_

"What can we do to stop it?" Denzel was on his feet now, standing beside his adopted sister. "I mean there's gotta be something right?"

" _No, she must face this problem alone until her parents return. Vincent Valentine will be her only aid._ "

Ula frowned, but her gaze didn't waver. "What can I do?"

" _Listen to your guardians, they will guide your path._ "

"Hey wait!" the girl snarled as Fenrir faded away. She and the others were left standing there in confusion and worry, and Ula couldn't help but plop down in a chair to bury her face in her hands.

"If that's all I have to go on then this world is screwed." she looked up, towards the ceiling. "I don't have dad's drive, or mom's instincts, and Gaia knows I don't have the resources Vincent has. I don't even know how to talk to the wolves… I have no idea how to do this, and if Fenrir is right and I'm on my own until mom and dad get back, then I don't know how to help you guys prepare either."

"Don't worry, we're gonna help you out." Denzel put a hand on the girl's shoulder. "And I know where to start."

"And where would that be?"

"Kalm."


	5. Chapter 4: Not What We had in Mind

Chapter 4: Not What We Had in Mind

Ula held on to her brother as he drove through the streets of Kalm, heading for the building where Vincent lived. It was rather easy to find now that they knew the way through the maze like streets of Kalm, and soon the motorcycle was being parked outside the building. Denzel patted her on the back, leading her into the building and up to Vincent's apartment. Ula stepped around her brother, not bothering to knock before walking through the door. Vincent was sitting at his tiny little table, looking at them as they walked in.

"Ula, what have I told you-"

"My phone was destroyed this morning in a summon fight."

"As was dad's kitchen and living room. Only the chair you gave them is left."

The man chuckled quietly. "Alright. What do you need?"

"I need to know what you can tell me about talking to my summons. Like how Cloud can talk to Fenrir? Something really bad is going to happen, and they're the only ones that can help me get ready for it."

"Can't you go to Cloud for this?"

"He and mom are… away. For now."

"I see."

"That's not all we're here for though." Denzel stepped around the girl. "Fenrir says that right now you're the only one here besides Rain who can help us get ready for what's coming."

"And he says that because I helped Cloud, hm?"

"Yeah."

"So… can you?" Ula looked a bit worried. "Please Uncle Vincent, there's no way I can do this on my own."

"You think I don't know that?"

"Huh?"

"Ula," Vincent stood, walking over to put his hand on her shoulder. "You're strong girl, but you're talking about something that Fenrir is warning us about. If a God feels like he has to step in and warn us, it's very bad. You're not quite strong enough to fight a against something this big on your own. Yet."

"So… what should I do?"

"I think we should start with your summon. Cloud let his speak to him first, so maybe we can do the same with yours. Go ahead and let it out."

"Them, Vincent. She has two."

"Oh?"

Ula looked down at her wrist for a moment before retrieving the crystal from the wolf's head. After motioning for Vincent and Denzel to back up, she produced a small knife from the inside of her jacket, and tossed the crystal into the air so she could slice it with the blade as it fell. The roses made an appearance again, making Vincent mutter something about being 'just like her mom', before the wolves appeared before the girl once more. She looked at them with a curiosity tinged gaze, a question burning in her eyes before the red wolf, Skoll, dipped his head.

" _Are you ready to listen to our guidance little wolf?_ "

"Yes?" She looked between them as the boys walked around to her. "I have no choice but to be ready. I'd rather fight a god than become one right now, especially under the circumstances."

" _My dear, you are already a goddess. Your parents still have their titles of Protection and warrior, so being born to them made you a goddess from the start. Just, not as high of one as what will happen should your world end the way our father has foretold."_ Hati dipped her head, then lifted it to look the girl in the eye. " _You hold the title of-_ "

" _No Hati, now is not the time._ " Skoll barked. " _She must learn of our side to father's warning before she can truly receive the powers of her title._ "

"What is your side?" Denzel pipped up, a little tired of their little bickering match already. "We don't have forever you know."

" _Of course… Ula, the chaos that threatens to end your world the way your mother's world ended is not natural. It is not born of a single soul dying endlessly. You must go to the man saved by the gift of the goddess to find the cavern where this new chaos is beginning to grow. In order to fight the threat, you must first understand what created it."_

Hati stepped up to the girl, tilting her head slightly. " _Once you understand where this threat came from, we will be able to give you the powers of your title, and once your parents return they will be able to teach you how to use them. However, Vincent Valentine will be able to guide your for now. He was with your parents in Valhalla when your father was being trained, and he can now pass on whatever he knows from that time to help you_."

The wolves started to fade as the trio let their information sink in, but it took a mere second for the girl to realize one thing.

"Wait! Who is the one who was saved? How will I find them?"

" _The man of fire with the red coat. He is the one you seek. He is the one who was saved._ "


	6. Chapter 5: The Man in Red

Chapter 5: The Man in Red

"What are we supposed to do? Who the hell are we even trying to find?" Denzel scowled, plopping angrily down on Vincent's bed, glaring at the former Turk as he sat back down at the little table. Ula took on a thoughtful look, beginning to pace back and forth in between them.

"Let's see…" she paused, looking at Vincent's bookshelf, then walked over and picked up a leather bound book. "Saved by the gift of the goddess… Gift of the goddess sounds like Loveless."

"Loveless?" Denzel sneered. "You mean that play Tifa went on and on about that dad took her to see for her birthday a while back?"

"It's also a book, with a final chapter not written by the original author. A page was found near the ruins of some of factory town and the script written on it was adopted as the final chapter. Dad has a-" she gasped, making the men exchange a look. "Dad's theory! That's it! I know who the man is!"

"Care to fill us in?" Vincent arched an eyebrow, but scowled when she ignored him to grab his phone from the table. She was quick to dial a number, and took on a devious smirk that made Denzel's brotherly instincts kick in.

"Hey Reno," then men exchanged another look, this time one of surprise. "Remember that favor you owe me? Well I'm cashing in. No no, I don't need an ex-boyfriend killed, I have a brother for that. What I need from _you_ is information. No, I don't want top secret bullshit. No, I don't want-ew, no that's disgusting. No-no- Reno shut the fuck up and listen to me for a second! Good boy. Now, if someone wanted to hide from _everyone_ , but still have access to a major town, where would that be?"

She paused, waiting, then looked confused. "Seriously? No, no that's a big help. Yeah, thanks."

"Care to fill _us_ in?" Vincent repeated.

"Dad told me about a SOLDIER who always went on about Loveless. Took the book everywhere, quoted it all the time, the dude was devoted to figuring out the meaning of what it said. Well dad thinks this man, whose theory about Loveless was well known all over the world, is the one who wrote the script they found at the old town."

"And did he happen to mention who this person is?"

"SOLDIER 1st Class Genesis Rhapsodos."

* * *

"Hey Cloud, how do you think everyone is handling things back home?"

"I'm sure things are fine. Worst case scenario Vincent takes Ula out for target practice to keep her from doing something stupid."

* * *

"This is incredibly stupid Ula, how did you talk me into letting you do this?" Vincent groaned, looking down into the gaping hole they had somehow managed to find using some incredibly bad coordinates she got from the Turks. "We don't even know if Genesis is alive, yet you think he might be in here?"

"Well even if he's not, we still might have something." Ula looked at the men, pulling her gloves on.

"Well, let's get down there before I change my mind about letting you down there." Denzel put his sword on his back, looking at the rose haired girl. "You leading the way?"

"Yeah." Ula jumped down into the cavern, looking around before motioning for them to come down. The men exchanged a glance before hopping down, and Vincent gave her a nod soon after. He kneeled, messing with the dirt, then looking up and staring down one of the many tunnels that branched off the cavern.

"Something's been here recently. The trail leads that way."

"Alright." She pulled out her crystal, and was quick to shatter it. As the roses dispersed, the men were a bit surprised to see Ula sitting on Haiti's back as Skoll walked ahead of them down the tunnel Vincent had pointed out. They hurried to follow her as Skoll picked up a trail, and Ula stared ahead down the tunnel as the group ran down it.

"What exactly are we hoping to find?" Denzel was already getting tired of his surroundings, tripping over every little rock he couldn't see in the dark. "We could run right by it and not even know!"

"He has a point Ula, we need to slow down and think of a plan."

"I have a plan! We find out where this trail leads. If it leads to Genesis, I'll-"

"You'll what?" A sudden voice made the wolves skid to a halt, nearly making the boys crash into them. Ula climbed down off of Haiti's back, and watched as she and her brother faded.

"I'll talk to you. See if you can help me find out what I need to know."

"And why would I?"

She bit her lip, then had an idea. " _There is no hate, only joy, for you are beloved by the Goddess._ You are the man the "Goddess" saved, the man of fire with the red coat. Genesis Rhapsodos."

Genesis frowned slightly as he stepped out of the shadows that hid him, looking at her curiously as he held a flame in his hand to illuminate the cavern. "Who are you?"

"I'm the daughter of Cloud Strife, the Sephiroth clone you tried to use to stop your degradation." Her eyes narrowed as his went wide, and he wasn't the only one. Denzel and Vincent were both as shocked as he was, though not for the same reason. "My name is Ula."

"...Who is your mother? How did you turn wolves into summons?"

"My mother is the Warrior Goddess, formerly of Etro, and the should-be Goddess of Death of a world that exists in a plane parallel to ours. My father has also now become the God of Protection. The wolves you saw with me are the children of the Wolf god Fenrir, who is my father's summon as well as our family guardian." She held up her wrist to show him the wolf head she wore. "They were given to me to guide me as I step up to my inherited position as a Goddess."

Genesis narrowed his eyes, stepping up to examine her. "You don't look like a Goddess of any sort."

Ula growled, making Vincent start to step up to her side. But all of the men were left lurching away when she was engulfed in a bright light, only to watch it fade and see her standing there in her armor. She summoned her sword, and held it up to Genesis's throat.

"I may not look like your dear Goddess, but I assure you, if you don't help me the last Goddess you'll ever see will be my mother, come to take your soul to save it for a new world."

Genesis's slightly bemused look changed quickly to one of confused curiosity. "New world?"

"Yes." Ula lowered her sword. "My mother's world was destroyed when a sea of chaos burst forth. The same thing threatens to happen here, which is why I came to you. We need to find a cavern of growing chaos."

"What does this 'chaos' look like, exactly?" He arched a brow.

"Black, kinda smoky looking." Now Vincent spoke up, gaining everyone's attention. "Those who have been touched by other worldly beings can tend to be sensitive to the souls that are trapped inside of it."

Genesis frowned. "I believe I may know where this cavern is. Follow me."

Ula looked back at the boys for a moment before following the former SOLDIER through down the tunnels and toward another large cavern. Genesis drew his sword, running his hand down the blade to light it on fire, and holding it front of him as he led them down another tunnel, one much darker than the previous, full of twists and turns. The girl didn't seem to share the same issues as the boys following her as she followed Genesis, not quite sure that the man wasn't leading them into some sort of trap. She seemed to have full confidence in him, though why, they weren't sure.

Genesis finally stopped walking, and turned around to look at the girl who had stayed a mere step behind him the entire way. "Is _that_ what you mean?"

As he spoke he motioned behind him, where the tunnel suddenly became pitch black despite the light coming from the flames coating his sword. Ula looked past him, then nodded.

"That is the chaos."

"So now what?"

The girl re-summoned the wolves, surprising her friends when they saw that white feathers appeared this time, instead of rose petals. "Skoll, Hati, we have found the cavern. What must I do to understand what caused it to be growing?"

" _Listen to the souls, listen to their suffering._ "

Ula nodded, and had begun to take a step into the cloud when Hati jumped in front of her. " _Not alone! You must never enter the chaos alone!_ "

"Then Vincent can-"

" _No._ " Skoll growled. " _Vincent will absorb the chaos and all the knowledge it contains will be lost._ "

"Denzel-"

" _He has not been touched by the hand of god. The chaos will overwhelm and kill him, taking on the form of his worst fear to make him suffer the way the souls trapped here have suffered_."

" _You, warrior of Minerva, must go in with her. That is why we told her to find you first._ " Hati dipped her head to Genesis. " _You beloved Goddess stands with our father, ready to sacrifice her life to save this world from suffering the fate of destruction, and re-creation_."

Genesis nodded. "If it is what she asks of me, I shall do it."

" _Hurry, the sands of time continue to fall as we stand still_."


	7. Chapter 6: Cries for Help

Chapter 6: Cries for Help

Ula gave Genesis a nod before stepping with him into the chaos cloud, listening to the protests of the men left behind as they disappeared from their sight. Immediately, Ula found herself clenching her head.

"So many voices!"

"Such pain." Genesis fliched. "I didn't expect it to be this… intense."

"What do we do know? Do we try to understand why they are here?"

"I think we may have other things to worry about!" Genesis had his sword at the ready once more, and Ula was shocked to see monsters take form from the chaos. They were unlike anything she had ever seen, yet they seemed… familiar.

"The monsters of the chaos! If we defeat them, the chaos will disperse!"

"What?"

"Genesis, I need you to make sure they don't all die before I figure out what made these souls gather to create this chaos infusion!" She didn't know what she was saying: the words just rolled off her tongue. She put her sword away, and clasped her hands together. Confused as hell but too on edge to question her, Genesis set to defending her as she did… whatever the hell it was she was doing. But then Ula let out a loud gasp of pain, her hands shooting to her head again.

"Get rid of them! Genesis, get rid of them!"

"You said-"

"I understand now!" She let her sword return to her hand. "The souls are gathering here because this is where the energy is thickest! They are drawn to the energy because it allows them to gain the strength to cry out to those who can hear them! The monster are here because the combination of the chaos and the energy makes them stronger!"

With a sneer, the man turned his attention fully back tot the monsters, using his magic to help him as he quickly jumped into battle, Ula joining him as soon as the strength returned to her legs. The monsters were defended within minutes, and the others were left awestruck when the chaos vanished from around them, revealing the two gasping for air, having been unprepared for how strong those monsters really were. Even Genesis, with everything that had been done to turn him into one of the best SOLDIER to ever exist, was out of breath, and had a few hairs out of place, having been knocked aside by the giant weapon of one of the upright, dog-faced monsters.

"Did you find out what you needed?"

"Yes…" she looked up at the wolves as they walked over. "This chaos… was created when Sephiroth tainted the souls that had gathered in the life stream. His... memory… tainted souls who were supposed to be reborn, and caused them to die soon after re-birth, or to taint already living souls and corrupt their bodies, pushing them to death. The tainted souls who were not reborn were ejected from the lifestream, and formed the chaos, but it began to search out untainted souls in the lifestream who had suffered in death, and pulled them out of the cycle to be trapped."

" _Yes. You, unlike your parents, have the ability to hear the afflicted souls, and understand why they are gathering as chaos._ " Hati dipped her head, but Skoll shook his.

" _However, merely listening and understanding will not be enough to stop the fate our father has foreseen. The chaos that threatens to flood and destroy your world is only partly made up of souls like the ones you just dispersed. People are not the only one who can suffer, and that is why you planet may not be affected or survive the way your mother's did."_

"What do you mean?"

" _Your planet has a life force of its own, unlike many other planets. That life force has lost bits of itself because of the actions of the 'old' ShinRa_."

"You mean the mako?" Genesis guessed.

" _Yes._ "

Hati looked at the man, then back at Ula. " _Ula, it is time we kept our promise. Your title._ "

The girl gulped, her fist clenching around the handle of her sword. Genesis looked at her in surprise, Denzel and Vincent stepping up to her as Hati and Skoll stood tall in front of her.

" _Goddess of Salvation, you shall do what your mother had been prepared for, what your father never knew his destiny foretold. You shall save your planet from this chaos, keep its time from freezing, and allow its history to carry on without being re-written._ "

" _You shall be the Guardian of this planet for future years, until its time is allowed to come to a natural end._ "

" _Genesis, now that Minerva stands with us, I hope you know you can no longer stay hidden like this. She will call upon you to fight alongside us._ "

"I will be fighting anyway. I stayed here, knowing that one day I would have my chance to be the hero I was supposed to have been in SOLDIER. I stayed here to avenge the deaths and corruptions of my friends. One of them is the one reason for this new threat, and I will fight to make sure this is the last problem he causes."

Denzel snarled when he saw the smile that blossomed on Ula's face, and even Vincent was a little riled up at the moment. But she didn't seem to notice, reaching over to put a hand on his upper arm.

"Welcome to the team."

"Speaking of _team_ ," Denzel pushed the two apart to give his sister a _very_ forced grin. "We should get back to the bar and fill the others in. And you-" he looked at Genesis with a glare and a scowl "-you might want to take off your SOLDIER belt. The others won't be quite ready to fight alongside you wearing it."

"Hmph, fine." He shrugged off his jacket, handing it to Ula to hold while he undid the straps that held the large SOLDIER belt around his waist. He pulled it off, holding it up to the others before dropping it to the ground. "I don't need to keep it anyway."

* * *

"Sorry we can't stay longer, but I don't feel right leaving Ula so long."

"Then next time bring her with you!"

"Haha, we will, don't worry Serah."

"Goodbye! Travel safe you two!"

"Bye!"


	8. Chapter 7: Parallels

Chapter 7: Parallels

Genesis looked around at the rest of "Avalanche" as he followed Ula and Denzel into the 7th Heaven Bar. Tifa narrowed her eyes at him, clearly recognizing who he was, but pursed her lips to stay quiet when she noticed Ula holding onto his jacket sleeve. The rose haired girl smiled brightly back at him, stopping in the center of the room before she started introducing everyone to him. While this was going on, Vincent pulled Denzel aside, and Tifa followed to listen in.

"I don't care what he says, if he puts a hand on Ula rip him to shreds. I'll dispose of the body."

"I was thinking we could hang it outside as a warning for the future."

"What are you guys talking about?" Tifa interjected. "It sounds like you're planning on killing Genesis."

"We are." Vincent growled, and Denzel gave a nod.

"Rain is a little too comfortable around him. She's sixteen and he's, what… late thirties? Early forties?"

"Somewhere in there."

"Either way, he's too old for her."

Tifa snickered as she noticed Ula glaring their way, arms crossed over her chest and her foot tapping as a sign of her annoyance. Genesis couldn't help his chuckle, but made Denzel snarl when he put a hand on her shoulder. But before he could say anything, a burst of lightning made everyone jump, and Cloud and Lightning were revealed to the rest of the group. They looked around in confusion at the half-hostile, half-laughing group, falling back a few steps when their daughter left Genesis's side to hug them.

"You're back! Oh thank Gaia!"

"We would've been back sooner, but Fenrir pulled us to Valhalla to tell us what happened when we were gone." Cloud ruffled her hair. "Congratulations."

"Goddess of Salvation, ha." Lightning rolled her eyes, but she was smiling proudly.

"So, why do Vince and Denzel look like they want to shred something?"

"Not something." Tifa stepped up and motioned to Genesis. "Someone."

"What did he do?"

"Your daughter has a crush on him."

The color Ula's face turned was rivaled only by the color of Genesis's famous red coat. "I do not!"

The other end of that statement scoffed. "Why don't we focus on the problem we seem to be currently facing? I don't believe we are properly prepared for a threat of this magnitude, especially if it includes fighting more of those monster Ula and I fought in the chaos. Even with all my training it was still a difficult battle."

Ula nodded, her complexion normalizing somewhat. "If they gave _us_ problems they way they did, I don't think you guys would survive fighting a swarm of more than a handful."

"I think it's safe to say that the chaos is going to get even worse, and if it's growing in the tunnels beneath Midgar, it is going to grow stronger than we can imagine."

"Oh, so you're suddenly an expert on Chaos infusions?" Lightning seemed a little peeved, crossing her arms (and making Genesis realize where Ula got her annoyed/angered posture from). "You fought _one_ swarm. When Cloud and I fought to save my world, we fought _hundreds_."

"Not like this." Ula stepped in front of the SOLDIER. "Mom, this chaos isn't from a single soul dying over and over. This chaos was caused by _Sephiroth_. The Geostigma, his multiple rebirths, it only opened a rift to allow the chaos to grow and escape, ejecting certain souls from the Life Stream to make it grow. Those souls, they're going to points of extreme energy to try and call for help. That sadness and the energy that attracts them, that's what's making the monster gather in those chaos points. They're feeding off the souls to gain power, not hiding them."

Cloud looked down at his daughter in curiosity. "How do you know?"

She met his gaze with a glare. "I can hear their cries when I'm in the chaos. They _told_ me."

Genesis looked between the two, then backed off to take a seat in the back booth, scooting right over to the window so he could lean against it before pulling out his copy of LOVELESS to read. Ula's gaze noticeably followed him, but she gasped quietly when she looked at his book, an idea seemingly popping into her head.

"Genesis, you were saved by Minerva right?"

"Yes."

"Can you speak to her the way we can speak to Fenrir?"

"No."

"But she can speak to you."

"It would seem so." Genesis lowered his book to arch a brow at her. "Why?"

"' _When the war of the beasts brings about the world's end the goddess descends from the sky. Wings of light and dark spread afar, she guides us to bliss, her gift everlasting._ '" Ula was suddenly grinning. "The _war of the beasts_? The beasts of chaos are weapons of war created when the world nears it's end! If Minerva truly is the Goddess that LOVELESS is talking about, then she didn't chose to join with Fenrir to stop the end of the world on a whim, she can sense that the world isn't supposed to end yet, and joined Fenrir to stop her descent from the heavens! Her descent, Omega and Chaos, they're signals that the world will not survive and the souls of the innocent, the souls of the _untainted_ must be gathered to be saved and reborn! What's going on in our world isn't just similar to what happened to mom's, it's directly parallel!"

"What are you going on about Rain?" Denzel just looked confused, but Cid grumbled.

"Who the hell told her about Omega?!"

"She likes exploring Midgar." Cloud shrugged. "She's found all kinds of old reports. Even found my old Infantry file."

"Anyway!" Ula interrupted before her exploits could be exposed further. "The events are parallel on a timeline of some sort. The Sephiroth events and the l'cie incident, Omega and the Paradox events, the end of the Crystal age, and the threat of the end of our world. It's our worlds mirroring each other with one key difference."

"What would that be?" Yuffie was shifting nervously from foot to foot. "C'mon Rain, stop being all dramatic and just lay it out for us!"

"The gods of mom's world were set off balance and led to the need to reconstruct her world. Our world has never had gods to balance its time, the Life Stream has always flowed in a circle to keep the cycle of life and death going continuously. Minerva was said to be a product of the Life Stream, of Gaia, to make sure the balance was only interrupted when time ended naturally, which is why Omega and Chaos came into being. Omega was made to take the souls from the Life Stream to a new planet for Gaia to be reborn and the Life Stream restarted, Chaos to make sure the bad souls, in other words the souls that threatened the final plan, were not allowed to make it to the new home, thus keeping the cycle in balance until it started again. That's why the destruction of Omega, and Chaos's return to the planet didn't cause the planet to immediately begin a death spin."

"Could you simplify this please?" Barret rubbed his neck. "We're not as quick to catch on to weird shit like this as we used to be!"

Ula deadpanned at the man, then walked over to take LOVELESS from Genesis, holding it up to the gathered adults. "Minerva and her guardianship is our difference. If we can talk to her and find out what she knows about the end of our world, we can set our timeline back on track."

"How the hell is some old book supposed to help us?!"

"Did you not hear what I just said old man?! Drink your damn tea and go back to doing maintenance on your air ship!"

Tifa jumped between Ula and Cid before they launched at each other. "Ula, we're not used to having to deal with gods like you and your parents are. How would we even be able to help?"

{ _Oh, you won't be much help at all~!_ } Cloud and Lightning gasped when a little rose haired girl in odd black clothing suddenly appeared out of nowhere, smiling childishly as she skipped over to Ula. "All you guys can do is try to minimize casualties."

"Lumina! What are you doing here?!" Lightning was shocked to say the least.

"I'm here out of necessity. Your heart has locked up on you again, and you didn't even realize it." Lumina giggled. "The only difference is nothing was removed this time."

"What are you talking about?"

"Fenrir copied the momentic legacy of your friends that was left imprinted in your heart and memories and brought me back into being to help Ula."

"Don't you mean, help us?"

"Nope. This fight is Ula's. You only received the vision so you two could train her to use her Goddess powers." Lumina lost her smile. "In the end, you two are just as useless as the rest."

"Then why the need for so many people touched by gods to be gathered in one place?" Genesis looked bored. "If it is her fight alone-"

"You will be fighting with her."

"Why him?!" Now Cloud looked pissed.

"He is the other side of the coin." The smile returned. "The way you, Lightning and Vincent balance each other, he and Ula will balance each other."

"That mean I'm like… Ice or something? I mean 'cause he's fire so…" Ula made some kind of motion with her hands.

"That has yet to be seen. I only know you two are the parallels. His dear Goddess Minerva will be able to tell you more."


	9. Chapter 8: Goddesses

Chapter 8: Goddesses

"So, Genesis." Ula plopped down across from the man as he sat pondering in the 7th Heaven's window-side booth. "How exactly do we get in touch with Minerva?"

"The last time I actually laid eyes on her, I had reached the end of my degradation and had taken on another form to battle Zack, bringing on the act where the three friends reunite. He defeated me, and I was cast into the Life Stream." he frowned. "I never even got a glimpse of it before I appeared before Minerva, and she returned me to Planet, completely healed and very much alive, without ever saying a word to me."

"Well that's _very_ helpful." Lightning muttered.

"We could always beat the shit out of him, see if that works." Cloud smirked, seeming pleased with the idea. "I was in a mako induced coma the last time it happened so it's only fair…"

"Or, we could let the wolves out and see if one of them can , maybe, oh I dunno, _call Minerva forth_?" Ula's eyebrow twitched, and she had taken on that annoyed look she had inherited from her parents. "We can't exactly beat up the one person who is supposed to be my only real support in a battle against the end of the world."

"Yeah, speaking of that, who are we even fighting?" Marlene pushed to the center of the group. "Because as far as I can tell, this isn't a clear cut battle like everything you've faced before. Who's the real enemy? Who is the cause of this? We can't send Ula and Genesis around the world to take out little pockets of monster summoning souls and hope it fixes everything."

"We won't know what our enemy really is until we can talk to Minerva." the girl sighed. "We just need to figure out how…"

"If we could somehow get her out of the Life Stream it might help…"

Cloud's head shot up. "Wait! I think I know someone who can help!"

"Huh?" everyone was looking at the blond strangely now, but he didn't seem to notice.

"We need to go to Aerith's church. Now."

* * *

{ _Are you sure about this Cloud? Even I don't know where Minerva lies within the Stream, and I have traveled every inch of it to help care for everyone who enters until they leave again._ }

"I'm sure."

{... _Then I'll do my best._ }

Everyone looked uncomfortable as they waited for Cloud to zone back in on reality, unsure of what was going on in his head as he stared blankly at the sword he had set up on the spot where Aerith's flowers still bloomed at the front of the church. He finally shook his head, and looked at his friends to settle their growing uncertainty.

"Now we wait."

"What exactly did you just do dad?" Denzel glanced at Marlene. "Because it didn't look like much."

"He was speaking with Aunt Aerith." Ula flipped through the pages of the copy of LOVELESS she had swiped from Vincent's apartment. "He asked her to search the Life Stream for Minerva's domain so she could be told we needed her guidance."

"And you know this… how?"

" _She's not blind to the ghosts of the past as all of you seem to be_." Lumina giggled as she appeared behind the girl, hugging her shoulders. "She talks to them all the time, don't you?"

"Uncle Zack tells some pretty interesting stories about dad's infantry days, and old man Hewley was a great help when dad first started training me to use my sword."

Genesis's gaze locked on the girl. "Did you say Hewley? Like, _Angeal Hewley_?"

"Yup. Matter of fact he popped up not long after we left the tunnels, telling me to make sure you didn't drive everyone to insanity quoting LOVELESS too often."

"That… certainly sounds like Angeal…" the SOLDIER frowned, but whatever he was going to say next was lost to the group as he and Ula suddenly vanished in a swirl of blues oddly similar to what the AVALANCHE members had seen when the LIfe Stream had burst forth to help Holy push back Meteor.

Ula yelped in shock when she fell through a wall of darkness, curling into herself until she no longer felt a breeze against her skin. It was the gentle hand of Genesis that made her unfold, lifting her head to stare in wonder at the blonde woman who stood a few feet from them, swirls of the Life Stream flowing around her. She gave them a gentle smile, prompting Ula to rise to her feet and walk with Genesis up to her.

" _Genesis Rhapsodos, my Soldier, Ula Strife, my replacement._ " the goddess chuckled. " _I am ready to answer your questions, but be sure to make them count. I can only keep you two in my domain for so long_."

"What can we expect to happen?" Ula didn't hesitate at all, making Genesis look at her a bit shocked before he remember the women he stood with were on a level far above him. "Who or what is the single cause of this, if there is a single cause? What can we do to stop the end of time and restore balance?"

" _I know I said make them count dear girl, but I didn't mean ask them all at once. Ahem, what you can expect to happen, is part of your world suddenly, dramatically, being covered and reshaped by a chaos sea that will retreat once you have completed your task, if you can complete it in time. The single cause, most bluntly, is not just Sephiroth and his hatred, but the dark legacy of ShinRa that created the one winged angel of death you father fought so many times before. You must find a way to contain the main Chaos swarm, it will not be a permanent fix, but it will buy the world a few more years._ "

"Where is it? How do we contain it? And if you say anything about the ShinRa building..."

" _Beneath the ShinRa building, in the secret labs that Hojo once ran, is where the Chaos is growing strongest. Seal it off however you can, before anymore escapes into the tunnels beneath Midgar. Have your parents take up their old roles of Savior and Champion and send them into the tunnels to eradicate the Chaos there, then into the ShinRa building to use their powers as Gods to seal the Chaos inside a bit more effectively, and from there your friends must be sent to five major spots of activity to defeat the Chaos Infusions that appear after the main is sealed. You, Ula, will work as_ my _Guardian, and Genesis, as her Soldier, to fight against an enemy who has not become known to even myself. You have seven days to seal the Chaos, and thirteen to learn to use the powers you have now been granted by me before this new enemy will reveal themselves. After that… You have only another seven hours to find him, and thirteen to defeat him._ "

"Fuck!" Ula snarled. "I don't even know how to use my Goddess powers, and now I have even more lumped on top?"

" _You are the Goddess who shall replace me when this world's time begins anew. It is a great leap from the mere mortal you believed yourself to be until only a day ago._ " Minerva closed her eyes and dipped her head. " _But I have every faith in you. Both of you._ _When the time to face the new threat comes, I will call you both forward again. Until then, I implore you to take care, and begin working._ "

Genesis cringed, shielding his eyes from the bright light that engulfed them before they were thrown back into the church where, now night, they found their friends leaping to their feet. Cloud and Lightning especially seemed worried, rushing to their daughter's side.

"Ula!"

"What happened? Did you talk to Minerva?"

"Yes." Ula dropped her head, and balled up her fist. "And I have bad news."

"Ula?"

"Guys… we only have thirteen days to prepare for this, and we don't even really know what's coming. Not even the Gods know who the final battle will be against."


	10. Chapter 9: Revelation of Balance

Chapter 9: Revelation of Balance

Cloud and Lightning looked on with anxiety ringing their bodies as Vincent barked out orders at Ula and Genesis, watching them spar in the new "paradigms" as Lightning had called them. Ula, dressed in an blue and black outfit similar to her mother's "Savior" outfit (thankfully with pants and not what Cloud referred to as battle-panties), twisted around and hurled a ball of lightning at her sparring partner, making him jump aside. Genesis stood straight when he saw her pause, looking at him in curiosity. He dusted off his jacket, which hadn't changed too much (though those odd black straps and SOLDIER emblem on the bottom of the jacket were new, and the internal pockets were definitely a nod to the pockets on the outside of that… skirt thing Lightning and Ula both had) before actually looking at her with an semblance of emotion.

The devious smirk he sent her way immediately put Cloud and Lightning, as well as Denzel - who stood a few feet away to keep from getting hit by another misguided fireball - on edge, but Ula only responded with a come-and-get-me-grin. The soldier was eager to do so, launching a large fireball at her before disappearing, only to reappear out of the fire as she dodged, barely missing her with his sword. It was enough of a shock to make her fall back and actually raise her shield to defend herself. Genesis was quick to slip around it, taking advantage of her blind spot to grab her around her waist and twist her around so he held her upside down by her knees. Ula snarled and hurled insults at him, trying to free herself but unable to.

That is, until she took a cheap shot that not only made him drop her, but made every man watching the spar flinch as Genesis dropped to the ground himself, emitting a high pitched whine that made Cloud's ear hurt.

"That... was dirty…" he hissed through clenched teeth.

"That," she got got up and shook the dirt out of her hair, "was better than me kicking you in that pretty little face of yours."

"Bah.." the man glared up at her, but took her hand when she extended it to him. He allowed her to help him back to his feet, then put his sword away. "You need to learn to cast your senses out."

Ula nodded, adjusting her grip on her sword to attack again, but pausing when Genesis frowned at her hand. "Genesis?"

"Who taught you to handle a sword?"

"Dad and mom?"

"What kind of sword did they teach you with?"

"Storm, that blue sword I had when we first met." she was getting worried now. Genesis scowled and held out his hand.

"Give me your sword." he shook his head. "Come on."

Ula, shooting a look at her parents, handed the sword over to the man and watched him easily wrap his fingers around the handle, holding it in both hands.

"Watch my hands Ula. This," he adjusted his grip to how she had held it, and suddenly Ula thought it looked very awkward and unbalanced, "is how you were holding it. _This_ ," he adjusted his grip, holding the sword in a light, one handed grip, "is how you should hold it. This sword is much lighter and more balanced that sword you were trained with. You can't handle it like a broadsword or you will leave yourself completely open and vulnerable. It will also unconsciously distract you and keep you from sensing your opponents."

"Really?" She was surprised, and let him place the handle of her sword in her hand, adjusting her grip with his hand so she was holding it correctly. Genesis then tried to pull the sword out of her hand, and smiled when he simply pulled her arm. "Now what?"

"Brace." Genesis slashed at her before she realized he had his sword back in his hand. She parried it easily, and was able to retaliate much faster than before. Cloud (now with no choice but to admit Genesis was right) watched with pride as his daughter proved to be quite the match for the SOLDIER, beating him back without ever once using magic. Genesis was also obviously impressed, and couldn't help but toss out a compliment or two before leaping into the air. He spun around in the air, slicing at her like a twister, but Ula only backflipped away then spun on her heel to meet his sword with her own. It brought his spin to an abrupt stop, making him grin as he used her shoulder as a platform to flip away from her.

When he landed he raised a hand to signal the end of the spar, and Ula laughed as she put her sword on her back.

"What, you being a sore loser?"

"I believe that we should call it a tie for now."

"Yeah, yeah." she shook her head. "So these two were relatively easy to get a handle on."

"Have you tried using your goddess powers yet Ula?" Cloud frowned.

"Yeah, and it makes using ruin a lot more fun."

"Ruin?" Genesis clicked his tongue. "Would that be that black ball of energy you shot at me?"

"Yup."

"I didn't really like that one, but using it with that sword attack of yours was pretty impressive."

"I learned that Blitz/Ruin combo from mom." Ula smirked, shifting back into her Goddess armor. Genesis huffed, and shocked her parents when he also shifted into a new outfit, this one radically different than both his usual and his Soldier for one very obvious reason.

He didn't have his iconic red jacket, instead he wore a black, long sleeve shirt and black pants that were a bit tighter on the leg than his uniform pants, as well as a pair of knee high black boots. Doesn't sound too different from his uniform without that iconic jacket right? Well it was. The red on him now was armor, consisting of a chestplate and pauldrons, plates of armor on the outside of his forearms, knee guards and armor on the top of his boots, as well as an armored belt that held a red, gold lined cloth around his left leg, similar to how Lightning's goddess armor had feathers.

It was a bit odd that his back was armor free though…

Genesis adjusted the grip he had on his sword, then launched into the air once more. However unlike last time he hovered in the air long enough to launch a flurry of fireballs at the grounded girl, who seemed to take delight out of dodging and redirecting the magic. She sneered up at him, watching him float back towards the ground, but that look was lost when instead of landing and taking up a new stance he launched himself in her direction the second his toes touched dirt. Ula ducked under his blade and attempted to knock his feet out from under him, but he simply cartwheeled back onto his feet.

In all honestly, his gracefulness was started to get annoying.

"Can't you be still?!"

"And let you believe that every opponent you'll ever face is some slow, uncoordinated imbecile? I think not!" he launched another fireball at her, but jumped away when small chunks of ice began to hurtle toward him. Ula, her sword glowing an eerie blue, snarled and waved her sword in his direction, shocking her parents when a wave of water flew towards the former SOLDIER. He quickly lit the runes of his sword, making go aflame, and cut through the wave, turning it immediately into a cloud of steam, but it was his turn to be shocked when used the effect against him, sliding under it to launch up at him while he was still staring at where she had been. It made him gasp and stagger back when her sword came up an inch away from his face, but when he recovered from the initial shock he was clearly impressed.

"Well done ice queen."

"Don't call me that."

" _Well now we know what you are in relation to him_." Lumina giggled, appearing beside Lightning. "Seems your little nickname fits you well, Rain. Afterall, your magic seems to be water based. You even managed to pull the water from the air around you for that wave attack of yours."

"She pulled water from the _air_?" Cloud looked a little surprised.

"Yeah, looks like being the child of the god with air based powers gave her that ability." the short girl smirked, skipping over to Ula to hug her arm. "You certainly picked up on it faster than your father did though."

Ula huffed, shaking the girl off. "I don't exactly have a choice."

" _That's what you think_." Lumina giggled as she disappeared again. Cloud and Lightning exchanged a glance, walking over to their daughter as she and Genesis both shifted back into their usual clothes.

"So," her mother was the first to speak. "Have you figured out where those five major infusions are?"

"Yeah, now I just need to work out where to send who." Ula sighed. "And we need to get it done as soon as we can."

"Then let's head back to the bar and figure it out." Cloud huffed when Genesis strolled right up to his daughter and put a hand on her shoulder. "I'll help in any way I can."

"Thank you, Genesis."


	11. Chapter 10: Assignments

Chapter 10: Assignments

Marlene and Denzel exchanged a glance as they helped Ula roll out a giant map of Gaia over one of the tables at the bar. The turks were watching in curiosity as they sat gathered around another table in the back, having come all the way from Healin Lodge to get a drink. They had been allowed to stay, only because Ula had suggested they might be useful. Genesis has been less than willing to agree with her, and now stood beside her, casting that infamous glare over his shoulder at them every few moments.

"Alright, according to Hati and Skoll, the other infusions that you guys will be fighting are here, here, here, here, and here." she circled three areas on the map, then looked up. "I had Shelke so a specific rundown, and these spots were revealed to be Junon, Gongaga, Nibelheim, an abandoned military base in Wutai, and… and the Forgotten City."

Genesis gave her a confused look as everyone around him tensed at the mention of that last one. The turks were on their feet now, and stood alongside the group.

"Infusions?" Tseng looked at Ula. "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean massive gathering of chaos: lost, tainted souls ejected from the Life Stream. They are gathering in massive swarms or "infusions", where they can find the strongest points of energy to allow people like me to hear their voices. However, they also attract incredibly strong monsters, unlike anything that ever existed in this world. At first, I thought the old Mako reactors might be a point of interest, but they aren't showing even the slightest levels of change from infusions." Ula looked first at Tseng, then at the other turks, and finally at her friends and family. "There are seven in all, two of which must be handle at the same time. Those two are in Midgar, but to be more specific, the old ShinRa building. Genesis and I will be taking the building while mom and dad take the tunnels beneath it, that is not debatable. However, the other five have varying levels of danger to them."

Genesis nodded. "After talking it over with her wolves, we were able to figure out who was best to handle the danger of each one."

Cloud leaned against the table. "Yeah, and?"

"Tifa and Barret should go to Junon, Cid and Shelke to Gongaga, Vincent and Denzel to Nibelheim, Yuffie to Wutai, and Marlene to the Forgotten City." Ula looked at the woman. "Marlene, you have some of Aunt Aerith's abilities, making you the only one who can handle that particular infusion. Cid, Shelke will be here in a few hours so get ready."

"Alright." Marlene nodded, then looked at Barret with a smile. "Don't worry daddy, I promise I'll be careful."

"You better!"

Tseng and reno exchanged a glance, then the director dipped his head. "I would like to add some of us to that roster, if I may."

"Trying to subtract from your debt?" Genesis sneered.

"No, trying to help. As turks, we possess knowledge about many of those places that may come in handy. Ula?"

"It would be helpful… Alright, who do we got on the table?"

"The four of us, as well as two others."

"Any specifics?"

"Cissnei and Crisis." Reno was the one who replied to that one. "Cissnei was in Gongaga for a while, so she might be best there."

"And Crisis?"

"Would be best in Midgar, as would I." the redhead looked at the map. "Rude and Tifa have similar fighting styles, so he could easily help her and Barret. As for Elena, I think she should go with Yuffie so she's not alone."

"You forgot your director there spitfire."

"No I didn't, I already know exactly where he wants to go, right bossman?"

Tseng looked at Marlene, then back at Ula. "I may not have acted like it back then, but I did consider Aerith as a friend. The Forgotten City is where she was laid to rest, and now it is being desecrated once again. I'll accompany Marlene there to stop this… infusion."

"That's awfully kind of you." Ula began to roll up the map, but stopped short the center. "Everyone… the monsters of the chaos are not to be taken lightly… they may not even be the only dangers you'll face at these hot spots… Be careful."

* * *

"I thought I'd find you up here." Ula turned in surprise when the voice reached her. Reno gave her a soft smile, and walked across the roof of her father's house to sit beside her on the edge. "Your buddies are all worried about you."

"Oh yeah?" she looked down at the street below. "What about you? You one of those buddies too?"

"Hey I didn't help you get through Midgar all those times for nothing brat." he shook his head and leaned back on his hands. "Look, Rain, I'm getting pretty damn old, but I can't die until I know I've helped fix all the damage I helped cause to the planet. Neither can anyone from ShinRa. Whether they returned to work or not, we all have to live with the guilt of what happened. Now the planet's in danger again, and it's something way worse than Sephiroth. But then we realize it is also ShinRa's fault? We can't just stand back and let one little girl handle it. No matter whose daughter she is."

"You're the reason the Turks showed up… aren't you?" Reno didn't answer, prompting Ula to ask a different question. "Is that why you want to go into Midgar with me and Genesis?"

"Partly. I know you're gonna be getting into some pretty deep shit when you get into the old HQ, and I don't exactly trust a SOLDIER to not go bat-shit crazy when all those nasty old memories start swarming." he gave her a smirk. "I know for a fact your dear old daddy doesn't either."

"Ah." Ula smiled, and got to her feet. "Shelke is here. Time for the first group to head out."


	12. Chapter 11: What the F-!

Chapter 11: What the F #$?!

Cid cussed as he landed the Shera on the outskirts of the run-down village of Gongaga. He wasn't too quick to leave the relative safety of the airship, and even Shelke seemed a bit concerned as she followed him out into the grass.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay behind Cid? I can hear your bones popping from here."

"Shut yer trap kid. I never back down from a fight, 'nd I certainly ain't about to start!" the blond snapped, lighting a cigarette before he started to lead her toward the town. A suit wearing brunette met them a few yards from the path into the town, and she gave them a smile as she adjusted her leather gloves.

"You must be Cid and Shelke. I'm Cissnei." she held a hand out to the man, which he shook (albeit hesitantly). "I've been scoping the town, but couldn't find anything like what Ula described. So I asked around and got some information about a hidden cave about two hundred yards away from the ruined reactor. I was about to go check it out when I saw your air ship."

"Alright, then let's go." The girls exchanged a bemused look when the creaky sounding man started off down the opposite path. Cissnei was quick to take the lead, but surprised the other two when she suddenly stopped, pulling out her large shuriken. She motioned for them to stay back, slinking out to investigate whatever had made her stop. Then a surprised scream reached them, and they darted off after her, skidding to a halt when they saw her embracing a dark haired man in… a SOLDIER uniform?!

"Zack! How are you here?!" she finally pulled back and looked up at him. "You're supposed to be dead!"

"Yeah well, a couple of us were pulled out of the Life Stream to help out. Or, at least that what Fang said." the man grinned, then gave the two confused looking AVALANCHE members a sloppy salute.

"Fang?" Cissnei looked around, then stopped when she saw a strangely dressed woman with a two sided spear. Shelke looked at her for a moment, then nodded.

"You're one of Lightning's friends from Pulse."

"Yeah, though I am a bit surprised she told you all about me." Fang smirked, walking over to join the group. "But I'm not here to chat, and neither is the puppy over there."

"Hey!" Zack blushed.

"Where'd you say that cave was again?"

Cid put out his cigarette on the heel of his boot. "So that infusion thing we're looking for is in the cave."

"Yeah."

Zack muttered for a second, then made a motion with his hand. "It's back this way."

Cissnei looked back at Cid and Shelke before following the SOLDIER down a path that they realized only he knew was there. It made quick work of the walk toward the old reactor, and they were soon standing outside a set overgrown rocks. He looked back at the others before pulling back a wall of ivy, revealing a rotting piece of wood beneath it. All he had to do was push it to make it crumble, showing the hole under it.

"It's a bit tight the first few feet, but it opens up the deeper you go."

"Good to know."

He gave a nod, pulled his sword off his back, then slid in sideways. Cissnei followed closely, as did Shelke, finally leaving Fang to shove Cid in and follow. As promised they only had to deal with the tight space for a few feet before the tunnel opened up into a large cavern. Zack gave them a smile, then motioned to some tunnels a few feet away.

"That first one over there is a dead in after about five feet, but the others go on for a while. This middle one here," he walked up to one of the tunnels. "Goes to a twelve foot drop into another tunnel, which then leads into a huge cavern."

"Then that's probably where we need to go." Fang looked at the others. "We should check it out first, but leave someone up top to pull us up if it's not what we're looking for."

"No need." Zack's smile turned into a grin. "I put a metal ladder in that drop years ago."

Cissnei couldn't help but let a little laugh out as she followed her old friend, leaving the others with no choice but to do the same. Zack's ladder was still there, thankfully, and he was quick to slide down the sides to take a look around.

"It looks like it's gets darker down there." he looked up at the group that was slowly following him. "It shouldn't be dark. There's a giant hole in the cave ceiling where light gets in."

"Then the chaos is probably there." Fang jumped down the hole, not wanting to wait for the old man of the group. "We should hurry and get down there."

"Yeah."

"So, what exactly can we expect, uh, Fang?" Cissnei waited for Cid to make it down to them before walking over to her. "You must've fought the things before, right?"

"Yeah, but even I don't know what we might be facing. The chaos swarms dissipate when the monsters inside are killed, but those monsters could be anything." she shook her head. "With any luck it won't be too bad."

"Uh, Fang?" Zack stopped about a foot away from the black cloud. "What monster sounds like rattling bones?"

"Skeletons." the woman groaned. "I thought Light and I wiped 'em all out, but I guess some of 'em came back for this world."

Shelke stepped up to examine the strange looking vortex, but everyone was left in a state of shock when a boney hand shot out of the cloud and grabbed the small woman, dragging her in. With no choice but to follow, the rest of the group wasn't shy about jumping in after, though the swarm of giant skeletons did make Zack's heart drop a little.

"They're huge!"

"They're pretty decent fighters too. Hey old man, you might wanna stay out of reach! These things are quicker than you think!" Fang blasted one of them with a fireball, giving Shelke a chance to get free. Cid grumbled and cussed but made no attempt to argue with the woman, instead staying back to blast the things to hell and back with also stayed back, though not for the same reason. Her shuriken came in mighty handy for supporting Shelke as she flitted around, cutting into the bony creatures with her sabers. Zack and Fang seemed to make a pretty decent team as well, with one slashing into the enemy as the other would attack with either magic or their own weapon.

Not that Zack would ever admit it, but those massive swords the skeletons had looked a bit sharper than his own and he didn't really want to get too close to them. You know, if he had been given a choice in the matter.

A well aimed magic blast from Cid was the final blow in the battle, and the group watched the chaos infusion dissipate around them. Zack let himself collapse to the ground with a groan, making Cissnei walk over to lightly kick his leg.

"Hey I thought SOLDIER didn't get tired." she joked, but the look Zack gave her made her smile change into a look of worry.

"Cissnei, I haven't fought anything in… let's see four… two… two… sixteen...twenty four years or so? I'm out of practice."

"You still did pretty good though. For a pup." Fang smirked, though she was starting to fade. "Tell Ligh _tning I said hey, will ya_?"

Zack hopped to his feet to give Cissnei another hug, starting to fade himself. "And if you happen to see Cloud, tell him _I'm glad he got to live out his life_."

Shelke and Cissnei exchanged a look as the two disappeared completely, only then turning to check on Cid. The old man was sitting down, leaning against a rock. He groaned, looking at them through narrow eyes for a second.

"I'm just… gonna sit here for a few minutes…"

"I told you to stay on the ship."

"I can't let a couple of girls fight for me dammit!"


	13. Chapter 12: One-Eyed Freak of Nature

Chapter 12: One-Eyed Freak of Nature

"Gongaga was a success, but there was a major surprise. It looks like the "momentic legacy" of mom's friends that Fenrir copied are showing up at the chaos points. And that's not all…" Ula snapped her PHS closed, then looked at the others as she adjusted the headset she had borrowed from Reno to communicate with the groups that had already been sent out. "It seems some old friends have been revived to help out as well. Zack was in Gongaga with mom's friend Fang."

Lightning sighed. "That changes things. Without knowing who will show up where…"

"Yeah, our groups could be disrupted. However, you all should be used to changes in the heat of battle, so you need to adapt quickly to whatever happens. That being said, Junon group you have the go ahead. Wutai group, I need a location. Forgotten City you need to pull back, the readings there are changing."

Genesis looked over at Cloud, watching the blond's clear internal debate as he watched his daughter bark out commands to the much more experienced fighters. The man finally settled on pride, giving his wife a small smile.

"Maybe Fenrir was right about her."

"We won't know until Midgar."

* * *

Tifa looked back at Barret and Rude as they left the helicopter they had used to get to Junon. Ula's latest news had them a bit unsettled, and they proceeded into the abandoned ShinRa buildings with caution, looking around for the strange black cloud they had heard about from the locals. They were unprepared, however, for a strange black man with a chocobo chick in his afro to approach instead, holding up his hands to show he held nothing.

"You, uh, you the guys that wolf was telling us about?"

"We might be. Who're you?" Tifa was hesitant to answer, not knowing who he was.

"Sazh, an old friend of Lightning's." the chocobo chick chirped in annoyance, making the man reach up to her. "And this is Chocolina. She doesn't like not being introduced."

"I'm Tifa, these are my friends Barret and Rude. You haven't… happened to meet another of our friends, have you?"

" No, sorry. I have found that chaos infusion though, couple floors below us."

"Lead the way." Rude and Barret exchanged a glance as Tifa followed the newcomer without any hesitation. Whether it was the famed "woman's intuition" or Tifa's trust in her ability to kick ass, she didn't seem to distrust the man at all, leaving her friends to follow without much choice.

True to his word though, Sazh lead the group down several flights of stairs (making poor Barret have flashbacks of the ever increasing stairwell he, Tifa, and Cloud had climbed when they snuck into the ShinRa building to save Aerith). Rude was left giving the other man concerned glances (wait, concern? From a _Turk_?) as he tried to keep from stumbling over his own feet.

"How far down is it?"

"Man don't ask me that! I didn't count steps!"

Tifa sighed loudly, bringing the little argument to a halt. But then she was the one to halt, and the men were left sidestepping her.

"Tifa?" Barret looked at the woman in confusion, but then seemed to notice that Rude had tensed up as well. "Somethin' up?"

The woman looked down at the stairs beneath their feet, then gasped.

"Move!" No sooner did she shout the warning than a giant wooden club crashed through the stairs, knocking Barret, who had been too slow, down the stairs to the landing below. Tifa and Rude didn't have time to check on him, falling down the gaping hole left by the club and landing several feet below in front of one hell of an ugly cyclops. Chaos swarmed all around them, making Tifa shudder.

"I feel like it's sapping my strength."

Rude nodded, pulling off his sunglasses so he could actually see in the darkness the chaos infusion had engulfed them in. "We need to get rid of this thing fast."

"Sazh! Barret! Shoot it from up there while Rude and I take it down here!"

"Got it!"

"Rude, you think you can keep up with me?" Tifa was quick to pull on her gloves.

"Ha."

From their vantage point up above, Barret and Sazh watched in worry as the duo on the ground set to attacking the slow moving beast from below. They did their best to snipe the creature from where they were, but that plan was put on halt when it swung that club again, nearly crushing Sazh against the wall and making Barret fall to the ground where the other two were. But true to his bullheaded nature he was on his feet again fairly fast, and set that machine gun arm of his to full blast. Rude and Tifa moved around to its sides, making it stumble as their joint attacks began to weaken it. A well placed strike from a Firagaga blast finally made it fall over, only to bang its club on the ground and knock the trio off balance.

Sazh groaned, shaking his head as the motion made the metal around him set to ringing. "Damn!"

"Sazh!"

"I'm fine!" he gave himself a shake and starting shooting again, making sure to aim for the beast's head. Barret did the same, leaving Tifa and Rude to make sure the damn thing stayed down.

And stayed down it did, soon disappearing and making the chaos around them disperse. However, they were unprepared for a wave of weakness to suddenly overtake them, making the three Gaia residents fall to the ground panting and trying to recover the strength they had instantaneously lost from their bodies. Sazh put his guns away and rubbed his neck, Chocolina chirping as she popped up from his afro.

"You guys alright?"

"Yeah, we're… we're fine!" Tifa smiled slightly, watching the man begin to fade. "We gotta figure out how to get back up there though!"

"Well sorry but I won't _be much help with that!_ " the man laughed as he disappeared. " _Give Lightning my regards._ "

"WIll do!"


	14. Chapter 13: Deploy: Nibelheim!

Chapter 13: Start: Midgar! Deploy: Nibelheim!

Cloud exchanged a look with Lightning as he led her into the underground cavern where Genesis had been found. She shared his less than pleased expression, jumping down into the open area below so she could look around it with disdain.

"Ula gave us directions to the cavern where she and Genesis fought the first swarm, but are we actually going to be able to find it?"

Cloud grunted as he landed heavily beside her, taking a moment to pop his knee before standing up. "We don't have much choice. If we don't get contain the swarm down here, Ula and Genesis can't seal the swarm in the ShinRa building."

"Then I guess we better get moving."

"Yeah."

"Not without me you don't!" That voice. Could it be-?

"You?! You're the old friend joining us here?!"

"Shit."

Line

Denzel scowled as he stopped his motorcycle not far from the entrance to Nibelheim. He had heard stories from everyone about everything that had happened to and in the village Cloud and Tifa had once called home, but he had never dared to go there to see the place for himself. Vincent, sitting behind the younger man on the motorcycle, was as tense as he was, grumbling under his breath.

"How did I end up coming back to this place…"

"No use wondering about it Vince. Where are we going?"

"ShinRa Manor. Park Fenrir over there and I'll lead you there from here." Vincent hadn't taken his eyes off the large gate over the main road. Even as he hopped off the bike so Denzel could park it out of view, he hadn't calmed in the slightest.

The younger brunette soon returned to the former Turk's side, and followed him into the sleepy little town. It was early in the morning so nobody was out on the street, but as they passed a small house on their way out of the square, a blonde woman in orange with a white apron around her waist turned to them and smirked. There was something about her piercing blue gaze that struck the duo as familiar, but they were still hesitant to approach her when she waved them over.

"Are you two Vincent Valentine and Denzel Strife?"

"Maybe. Who's asking?" Vincent growled, but took a slight step back when she laughed.

"I'm kidding. I already know who you two are!" she turned a smile on Denzel and reached over to tussle his hair. "I'm Cloud's mother, which makes me your grandma kiddo."

The men exchanged a shocked look, then gave her a surprised one. She smirked and motioned for them to follow her, heading down the overgrown dirt road that led out of the square.

"Don't worry you two. The Strife family was the last family of Nibelheim natives. It's a tough bloodline."

"I'm sure it is." Denzel muttered, following her closely. Vincent was a bit more hesitant to deal with the woman, but all three of them were equally confused when they made it to the gates of the ShinRa mansion and found a tall, platinum haired man standing there in odd clothing. He looked down at a device in his hands, then shoved it in his pocket and walked over to meet them.

"Hello everyone. I'm Hope Estheim." he gave a little wave as he introduced himself. "I'm one of Lightning's old friends."

"Hope, eh? I remember mom telling me I reminded her of you once." Denzel muttered, but it seemed Hope heard what he said because a surprised smile bloomed on his face, but was gone the next instant. "You been scoping the place out?"

"I don't know what kind of monsters exist in this world, so I decided to conduct a scan of the building before going in. You guys got here just in time."

"What did you scan show you?" Vincent was curious.

"The house is clear, surprisingly, but when the scan reached the basement below everything jammed. I can only assume this place was full of weaker monsters who fled when the chaos infusion grew here, and that the infusion itself is what's preventing me from seeing what's in the basement."

"Alright then boys, let's get going." Cloud's mother walked up to the gate and shoved it open. "According to what that Aerith girl told me before sending me here, it's pretty important that we defeat whatever's in that… _infusion_ , right?"

"Did she tell you anymore than that?" Hope sounded somewhat hopeful, following the woman down the path to the front door.

"About this? No." she looked around after she crossed the threshold, giving Vincent an opportunity to take the lead. The trio were left to follow him as he ascended the stairs to the landing above, then down to the tiny hall and into a room, only to walk right up to a round stone column. Mrs. Strife seemed a little surprised when the hidden door opened, and Vincent had to suppress a snort of amusement before leading everyone carefully down the rotting stairs.

Hope was the one to become surprised when they stepped out into the cave system, but paused to pull that device from earlier out and give it a glance. "The infusion seems to be near the end of the system."

Vincent walked over to take a look at the device, and his expression immediately made everyone's blood run cold. "I know where that is, exactly. Follow me."

Denzel shouted after the man as he melted away into his cloak, zipped off through the dark, damp underground. The two new arrivals were left with no choice but to follow, though they weren't put on edge until Denzel pulled the heavy broadsword from his back, still running after Vincent. Hope followed his lead, pulling out his boomerang. Mrs. Strife didn't bother to pull out any kind of weapon though, but it was clear she had still come with the intention of fighting with them.

As the trio finally caught up to Vincent, they couldn't help but notice that he seemed… frozen, standing outside a door near the end of the labyrinth of a basement. Hope could clearly see the flickering of chaos from around the door, but the look of pain on the taller man's face kept him from stepping up to push it open.

"Is everything alright?"

"Yeah…" his voice was deepened by regret, but he pushed open the door and stepped in. The trio followed, only to be caught completely off guard when the chaos that had been contained in the room suddenly swept out into the cavern. They couldn't tell what was going on, but then out of nowhere the chaos dispersed, and Vincent was gone.

In his wake stood a tall, werewolf like creature with a kilt oddly reminiscent of Vincent's cloak, snarling at a dragon like creature far too big to be in the cramped space.

"That's a Zomok!" Hope yelled. "It's weak to Thunder based attacks!"

"Great!" a grin spread on Mrs. Strife's face, and suddenly she was holding something in her hands. "That's what I'm best at!"

The werewolf snarled, launching a thundara blast directly at the dragon's face. Denzel yelled something about it needing to be careful before he launched into attacking as well, slicing easily with the large sword. Hope watched in slight shock as the man and the creature started fighting in sync, but had to clear it from his mind so he could actually help out. His boomerang was perfect for hitting that dragon with an up close blast of thunder, but soon it didn't matter at all.

Enrage, the Zomok managed to somehow turn in the tight space, hitting them all (save for the werewolf thing) with it's tail. But in doing so it also became stuck, and that's when Mrs. Strife scared the living daylights out of everyone in the room. The woman suddenly charged forth, using the dragon's inability to move against it and hitting it right up the base of it's skull with a thundaga blast that left the boy's hair standing up as the electricity not channeled into the monster's brain entered the air. But then came another shock, when that item she held turned out to be a nice pistol, which she then used to end the beast's life.

Mrs. Strife looked at the shocked expressions of her temporary companions as the Zomok faded from beneath her, but turned a surprised expression of her own on the werewolf creature when it changed form, leaving Vincent standing with them once again.

"I see where Cloud gets it from now."

" _I see_ why Denzel wasn't worried about you now." Hope scoffed, already beginning to fade. " _A little warning about that ability of yours would have been useful_."

Mrs. Strife laughed, beginning to fade as well. " _It was good to meet my son's dear friend, and my grandson! I wish I could have spent more time with you though._ "

Denzel stepped over to Vincent as their companions disappeared. "She sure was a lot more cheerful than dad."

"According to Tifa, he used to be that cheerful too."

"I don't believe it."

"Neither do I."


	15. Chapter 14: Chocobo What Now?

Chapter 14: Chocobo What Now?

Elena frowned at her GPS as she tried to pilot the helicopter to the location Yuffie had given her. It had been a little difficult, the place was so old it had been completely reclaimed by nature and thus blended in even to the satellites. Finally though, Elena was able to land the chopper after seeing a flare be shot up by none other than the hyper active ninja herself. Yuffie grinned and waved excitedly to the landing craft, giving the turk a momentary sense of calm that was shattered the moment she saw a tall raven haired man in a SOLDIER uniform walk up to stand with the girl, and another, clearly energetic girl with rose hair skip over to the duo soon after and join the ninja in waving.

The Turk grimaced as she got out of the chopper, walking over to the awaiting trio. Yuffie smiled brightly, motioning to the two with her.

"Elena these are the guys here to help us. SOLDIER 1st Class Angeal, and this is Vanille, one of Lightning's friends." the two nodded when their names were mentioned. "Vanille says the infusion is inside this old fort, near the center where the shrine is."

"Alright, let's go then. I think Ula wants us to get this done as soon as we can." the blonde looked at the other two once more, deciding to put at least a little trust in them. Angeal seemed to realize she still wasn't completely comfortable though, and gave her a reassuring smile before following Vanille and Yuffie into the old fort.

"Don't worry, I'll let you watch the rear, little Turk." he chuckled, making her whine.

The two girls up front proved to be a little quicker than their taller companions, and ended up waiting for them to catch up not far in.

"Man, you two are gonna havta to get a move on if we wanna get this done before nightfall."

"You know, you remind me of an old friend of mine. All that energy…" Angeal shook his head. "There's no point in rushing in and wasting our energy. And since we have no idea what it is we're up against, we really can't afford to be busy catching our breath when we do reach them."

"Bah!" Yuffie rolled her eyes, walking to a sunk in part of the wall and shocking everyone when she pushed one side to make it swing open. "Come on, we'll get there quicker if we use the hidden doors instead of walking down each corridor individually."

"I forgot about those." Angeal looked at the dog statues on each side of the swivelling wall as he followed Yuffie and Vanille through it.

"I'm sure you didn't so much forget as block it." the girl gave him a sad smile. "I'm old enough to remember the war too. Although, probably not as much as you remember."

"I'm sorry." he muttered, looking away before refocusing. "The layout of these old bases are typically similar right? So we shouldn't be as far from the shrine as it appears."

Yuffie nodded, walking up to another hidden door. "Yeah, but Fort Tamblin is a little larger than most the others you ShinRa guys managed to invade."

"Wait, did you say Tamblin?" Elena gasped. "I read about this place in the news! A SOLDIER operative went missing after the Fort was cleared!"

Angeal scoffed, shaking his head. "So that's what they decided to go with."

Vanille tilted her head, looking at the three Gaia natives. "Well, it seems this place holds some bad memories, but if we don't hurry to the shrine, it may begin to hold even worse things."

Elena nodded, looking at the other two as they exchanged a solemn glance before continuing on. They followed Yuffie up to one final door, then around a corner to where a large gate was. She looked back at them before Angeal helped her push it open, and they were immediately sent into shock when their sight was engulfed in black.

"I guess that's it."

"Yup," Vanille walked forward, clasping her hands together in a strange way before reaching around for her binding rod. "We need to get in there and defeat whatever awaits us!"

"We should come up with a plan first." Angeal shook his head. "Since you're the only one here who knows what we might face, could you tell us more of what to expect?"

Vanille frowned, "No, I don't know what we might be fighting, but whatever it is will have gained strength by being in the chaos. I'm more of a support fighter so the actual physical fighting will have to be done by you three. We should come up with a plan once I've seen what it is."

"Fair enough." Elena gently touched the girl's shoulder before pulling out a gun. "I guess we just need to dive in then."

Angeal gave a grunt before walking into the chaos, followed closely by the girls, but even he was disheartened when he laid eyes on the large green monster stalking around in the infusion.

"Oh, uhm… that's a Chocobo-eater..." Vanilla gripped her rod a little tighter. "Okay, if you can use magic, blast it with it until it hit what we call a "stagger point". Once it does, it will recoil and shield it's face, opening up that large mouth on its stomach and exposing a big round gem looking thing. When that happens, focus on the gem and the mouth with physical attacks! WIth four of us it shouldn't take long."

The SOLDIER and Turk looked at each other in disbelief, then back at the monster that had finally caught sight of them. It gave a roar and charged, making them all jump out of the way before unleashing their magic upon it. The Chocobo-eater snarled viciously before it coughed out a cloud of noxious gas that quickly backfired when Elena hit it with a well aimed Firaga, setting the poison cloud ablaze right in its face. It seemed to be just what was needed as the creature reared back with a near deafening cry, clutching at its face and exposing the round gem in its mouth just as Vanille had described.

"Quick, hit it while you can!" Vanille shouted over the monster's roar, sending the other three hurrying closer to attack. It was another well-aimed attack from the blonde Turk that finally defeated their foe, placing a smirk on her face that Yuffie didn't think would leave anytime soon.

"I only wish I could have taken a picture of that thing to show Reno." she muttered, turning to Angeal and Vanille as they began to visibly fade.

"You may want to focus on what will soon be ahead of you, little Turk," Angeal shook his head as he addressed her. "But I don't think I have any right to scold you, all things considered."

Vanille laughed, giving the other girls a wave. "I hope Light can help you describe it at least!"

Yuffie watched the two disappear. "They're never going to believe you, y'know?"


End file.
